Google said in court that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) copied parts of a European Union (EU) ruling against the tech giant in a lawsuit related to anti-competitive practices in the Android operating system.
The company also asked to reverse CCI’s decision against the company. In October, CCI fined Alphabet Inc’s Google for abusing its dominant position in markets such as online search and application web stores.
Additionally, the regulator has asked Google to change its mandatory practice of forcing Android smartphone makers to pre-install apps from Google’s Play store.
In the wake of the CCI’s decision, sources told Reuters that Google was more concerned about the “out-and-out” Indian regulator’s decision than the European Commission’s landmark decision in 2018. Google is challenging her record $4.3 billion fine imposed by EU regulators.
In documents filed with the Indian Court of Appeal, Google alleged that the CCI’s investigative arm “extensively copied and pasted from the European Commission’s decision and developed evidence from Europe that was not investigated in India.” did.
“There were more than 50 copy-paste cases,” and even “word for word,” and the CCI wrongly dismissed the issue, Google said in a filing seen by Reuters. While deeming the technology company’s practices pro-competitive, Google accuses CCI of failing to conduct an impartial and legally sound investigation in its filings.
A court will hear a case on Wednesday overturning CCI’s October ruling.
The CCI ruling comes at a time of growing global criticism of Google for its alleged anti-competitive practices. In its ruling, the Indian oversight body sought that Google’s Play Store license not be associated with mandatory pre-installation of Google search services, Chrome browser, YouTube, or other Google applications.